The 697 Bus From Tiverton to Wellington Via Huntsham

I suppose one of the advantages of being "old" is having both the pensioner's free bus pass and the time to use it!

So having retired to the middle of Devon with my wife Elizabeth in 2006 I gradually set about exploring the area.....and one of the best ways to do this is by bus. Armed with the local bus timetable I went down to the Tiverton Bus Station and boarded the 697. It sounds grand with a "big number " like that but in fact there is ( or rather "was" as the service no longer runs as it did ) just one return journey on a Tuesday and another on a Friday. These are Tiverton's miid-week market days so I boarded the Tuesday afternoon bus for its return run through Huntsham and Holcombe Rogus and on to Wellington in the neighbouring county of Somerset.

Believe me, I have never known another bus journey like it! The lady bus driver seemed to know ALL the passengers and stopped at exactly the right places along the narrow country lanes to set down each person right outside their cottage. Not only that but she climbed down from her cab and helped carried each passenger's shopping bags through thier gate and up to the front door! Having returned to our bus she then checked her passenger was safely in the cottage before driving on!

The 697 service uses a very small coach which is little bigger than a minibus so I guess you could count the passengers on the fingers of two hands - thank goodness! If it had been a full double decker then it would have taken forever to carefully unload each passenger with their shopping bags from Tiverton Market.

Our bus dropped off each passenger along the lanes until I was the only one remaining and we finally arrived at the destination of South Street in Wellington. Our driver gave me a cheery "goodbye and hope to see you next Tuesday!". Amazing!

I did my shopping in Wellington but rather than wait for the FRIDAY service back to my home in Tiverton I caught the more direct 92A service!